Chastise
by SeekHim
Summary: Captain Jason Morrick assumes command of the Enterprise. AU Part of the 'A New Start' universe.
1. Arrival

_Stardate 4/24/2258_  
_Shuttlebay of the Enterprise_

"Commanding Officer of the _Enterprise_ arriving."

Jason Morrick stepped out of the shuttle and made his way toward the waiting podium. As he walked  
he silently gazed at the large segment of the Flagship's personnel standing at attention.

Not a single one of them smiled and neither did he.

Arriving at the podium he read out loud from his PADD.

_To Captain Jason Morrick_  
_Stardate 2258.4.24_

_You are hereby requested and required to take command of the U.S.S Enterprise as of this date._

_Admiral Robert Lessing_  
_Starfleet Command._

He looked out over the faces of his new crew. His eyes warmed slightly as he spotted the only one who gazed  
at him steadily. Chief Medical Officer, Uwasi Mushikiwabo of Rwanda, was both an accomplished surgeon and  
a skilled pathologist. She had high recommendations from Starfleet Medical and from all of her previous  
postings. And many years ago she had successfully treated Morrick's nephew when the boy had come down  
with a mysterious illness after visiting a remote colony with his family.

His eyes hardened as he gazed at the rest of the crew and grew harder still as he gazed at the senior staff.  
"All hands, except senior staff, to their posts," he ordered coolly.

The crew silently filed out. Earlier that day Morrick had attended a small gathering of family and colleagues  
at Starfleet Headquarters to celebrate his new command. For the crew of the _Enterprise_ there would be no  
ceremony or reception.

"Dr. Mushikiwabo, please report to Medbay. Commander Spock, Lieutenant Commander Scott, Lieutenant  
Uhura, Lieutenant Sulu and Ensign Chekov, report to the Briefing Room. Remain standing when you get there."


	2. Briefing Room

_Enterprise Briefing Room_

The_ Enterprise_ senior staff stood at attention in the Briefing Room. Commander Spock's face was his usual  
stoic mask but the rest of them radiated guilt, dread and a desire to be anywhere else but there.

Captain Morrick stood in front of them. For a few moments he silently gazed at them, face expressionless,  
before finally speaking in a quiet voice. "So. This is the senior staff of the _U.S.S. Enterprise_. The crew that  
defeated Nero. The crew that saved Earth. The crew that flies the finest ship in the Fleet. And the crew that  
betrayed their Captain."

Everyone except for Commander Spock flinched.

"People are calling what happened the _Enterprise Incident_," Morrick continued. "I disagree with that title.  
I personally met with Kirk. I saw first-hand the damage that was done to him. Done to him by his rapists  
and especially done by you."

Morrick's eyes turned to flint and his next words were a hiss. "You were _Starfleet officers_. Senior officers  
of the_ Flagship_. It's bad enough that the rest of the crew acted the way they did but you…you were his  
_senior staff_. The ones that he worked with the most closely. The ones that he should have been able to  
trust the most."

Morrick's next words were thick with disappointment. "It was ten days from the time that he was raped until  
the time that he decided to leave the Enterprise. Another week before he actually left. All together that's  
seventeen days. Over two weeks. Two weeks when your Captain was hurting and you didn't _notice or care."_

There were flinches again.

"During all of that time none of you gave him so much as a kind word." He turned a disappointed look toward  
Lieutenant Commander Scott. "Instead you gave him amused, sarcastic comments."

The Chief Engineer looked downward in shame.

The gaze Morrick turned on Lieutenant Uhura paralyzed her. "Or you gave him harsh words and condemnation."

The look he turned on Commander Spock was withering. "When he tried to ask you for help you told him  
to keep his personal affairs to himself."

The Commander finally flinched. Very faint, barely noticeable, but there.

Morrick turned to Lieutenant Sulu, "Or you avoided him, having more important things to do." He stepped closer  
to the Helmsman. "This was not only your Captain, this was the same man _who saved your life_. And you couldn't  
spare a moment of your time _to even listen to him."_

The Helmsman's face was as pale as a ghost.

Morrick looked each of them in the eyes and his next words, although quiet and measured, rang like a shout.  
"He was your Captain and he trusted you, but when he needed you the most you turned your backs on him.  
You abandoned him. And in the process hurt him far more than his rapists ever could. That was far more than  
an_ incident_. It was nothing less than despicable."

Ensign Chekov was shaking.

Morrick continued, his words flat and cold. "By rights you should each be dishonorably discharged or stripped  
of rank or at the very least removed from active duty and confined to Earth indefinitely. Starfleet decided not  
to do any of those things for the simple reason that we can't spare you. We lost thousands of officers at Vulcan,  
we need every single crewmen we have and each of you have the highest scores in your respective fields.  
Kicking you out would only weaken Starfleet further and we can't afford that.

"Many thought that you should be split up and sent to different ships. But it was decided to keep you here on  
the _Enterprise_ for two reasons. Number one, this is the Flagship, it needs the finest minds and hands in the fleet  
and once again you're the best in your fields. Number two, Starfleet decided that it's best to keep troublemakers  
like you in one place."

At the word 'troublemakers' there was another collective flinch.

"So all of you are staying here and that means that you're mine to deal with." His next words were questioning.  
"And how _should_ I deal with you? Should I have you restricted to quarters when off duty? Have you serve under  
close supervision? Have your privileges limited? Deny you shore leaves?"

Morrick paused. "It may surprise you to learn that I'm not going to do any of those things. I'm not going to punish  
you at all. Because we're way beyond that." His eyes now were not only hard but sad as well. "In all my years in  
Starfleet, _no crew_ has ever betrayed their Captain's trust as you have." He continued heavily. "No punishment that  
I could give you would begin to mend that."

The senior staff remained silent and still but the guilt and shame in their eyes spoke volumes.

Morrick sighed. "I've thought long and hard about each of you and the rest of this crew. I've tried to understand why  
you acted the way you did. Kirk was the youngest Captain Starfleet has ever had. Maybe that was part of the problem.  
Maybe deep down you still saw him as the cocky cadet who cheated on the _Kobayashi Maru_."

He turned to Lieutenant Uhura. "Maybe _you_ still saw him as a dumb hick who only had sex with farm animals."

The Chief of Communications looked as if she had been stabbed.

Morrick turned to Commander Spock "And maybe _you_ still saw him as the troublesome cadet who cheated on your  
test, flouted regulations, defied logic...and was rewarded for it. Well, you must be experiencing great satisfaction  
now, Mr. Spock. He emotionally compromised you and you helped to compromise him. He was promoted instead  
of you and now, thanks in part to you, he's gone and may never hold another command again. Congratulations."

The Vulcan's face remained expressionless but his eyes gave away the storm of emotions within him.

"Most of you are young. Some of you hadn't even graduated yet when you became officers on this ship. The rest  
of you are among the Academy's most distinguished graduates. And some of you are among the youngest officers  
Starfleet has ever had. All of that is due to your exceptional skills. All of you are here because Starfleet needs those  
skills and the Flagship needs to be crewed by the brightest and the best.

"But being the brightest doesn't necessarily mean being the best. Being logical doesn't necessarily mean being right.  
And being brilliant doesn't necessarily mean being wise. In fact, too often the opposite is true." His gaze grew slightly  
thoughtful and concerned. "Too often brilliance leads to arrogance. Over the years I've observed that brilliance  
and arrogance are very bad combinations and combined with youth it's even worse."

His eyes once again grew hard. "And arrogance, even pride, is something that none of you have any right to feel.  
You and the rest of the _Enterprise_ crew are the brightest, but you're _not_ the best. You're a brilliant crew but you're  
not a _good_ crew. Because you broke the one rule that makes a crew a good crew- never let your Captain down."

Again there were flinches. Ensign Chekov's lip was trembling.

"Kirk is gone. I'm your Captain now and things are going to be very different. I've been a Starfleet officer since  
before most of you were born. I led an away mission comprised solely of fellow ensigns to rescue an ambassador  
and his family. I took charge of the bridge of the _Defiance_ when its Captain, First Officer and half of its crew were  
killed. I've been in the trenches and faced death more times than I can count. So believe me when I say that I know  
how to handle insubordinate crewmen. Kirk trusted you too quickly and he paid the price. I won't make that mistake.  
You're going to have to earn my trust and that will _not_ be an easy."

His eyes grew harder still. "I'm going to be watching all of you like a hawk. Day and night-both on duty and off  
I'm going to be breathing down your necks. A _single_ transgression, one _hint_ of disrespect, and you're off this ship."

"While you're aboard this ship you will be under my constant scrutiny. But you'll be grateful." At noticing the slightly  
puzzled looks in their eyes he continued. "You'll be grateful for every minute that you spend on board the _Enterprise._  
Because the scrutiny that you'll endure while you're _on_ this ship will be a picnic compared to the scrutiny you'll endure  
while you're _off_ it."

He noted their eyes widening with realization and dismay.

"You betrayed your Captain, and everybody knows it. By now practically everyone in the Federation has heard  
about the _Enterprise Incident_. I'm going to be hard on you but that's nothing compared to hard others will be."

His eyes grew sad again even as his voice remained hard. "You're my crew and I'm responsible for you. Even though  
you betrayed your former Captain, _I_ won't betray _you_. No matter how hard I'll be on you, you'll always know that I  
at least have your best interests at heart. Most of the people that you'll encounter off this ship will have no such claims.  
If you thought that the stares, whispers and comments that Kirk endured before he left the _Enterprise_ were hard,  
that's nothing compared to the ones that you'll get. And unlike Kirk, every single one of them will be deserved.

"_That_ will be your punishment. Knowing what you've done and knowing that everyone else knows it as well."

His voice was heavy once again. "You betrayed your Captain's trust and in the process the trust of countless others.  
You not only lost _his_ trust and respect but that of everyone in Starfleet if not the Federation. And you're going to  
find that it will take you a _very_ long time to earn those things back. If indeed you ever do. Dismissed."


End file.
